Imagine My Heart Was Yours
by Pharaohess Yami Anzu
Summary: With a new group of characters to join the original cast, memories of ancient Egypt surface and adventures make themselves known as Yugi and Tea's romance blossoms. A dynamic group of friends realizes their own powers to break free of the Shadow Realm.
1. Enter the Motley Crew

**Author's Notes:**

Hey there minna-san! I'm still pretty new at writing fanfiction, so please let me know what you liked and didn't like about my writing style, and please be gentle! Most of my fics are centered around Yugi/Tea romances and Sesshoumaru/Rin romances. I'll publish chapters whether you review or not, but your input not only makes those chapters appear faster, it also gives me ideas and pointers for more fics!

' _italics _' -signifies thoughts

[...] -signifies Yami Yugi speaking to Yugi

{...} -signifies Yugi speaking to Yami Yugi

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its subsequent plots and characters. All of these wonderful things belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Japanese Translation: A _yukata robe_ (noun) is a lightweight cotton kimono, akin to pajamas. They tend to be moderately patterned, and are closed by a sash that is twisted into a flat knot and turned around so that the knot doesn't show in front.

Reviews much appreciated!!!

-Pharaohess Yami Anzu

**Imagine My Heart Was Yours**

**Chapter 1-Enter the Motley Crew**

Sixteen year-old Téa Gardner trudged wearily out of her classroom, the circles under her eyes ashen, her hair mussed, and looking as thought she had just tumbled out of bed with her school uniform on.

She might as well have.

Wearily hauling her hand carry book bag at her side, the pretty, blue-eyed, brown-haired girl might as well have been walking to her execution in front of a firing squad. Her face pale and her eyes dazed, the teenager walked up to her locker and entered the combination to open it.

An enthusiastic shouting and boisterous laughing in the distance announced the arrival of one of Téa's friends, Jade. However, Téa was far too dazed and exhausted to even realize that. It wasn't long before the brown and pink-haired, brown-eyed, spicy-tempered cheerleader flounced to Téa's side, her gold, pink, white, and blue cheerleading uniform flaring, shining, and sparkling with every step she took, chattering animatedly for about twenty seconds about a random topic before Téa turned her head, revealing her worn, exhausted face.

"So Ricky was going on about this new rocket fuel he was working on in chemistry lab that could blow half the school to kingdom—whoa. Téa...sweetie, are you all right? Are you sick or something? You look...well...forgive me, hon, but you look awful."

The poor blue-eyed girl groaned. "I feel awful. I stayed up until midnight studying, but I couldn't sleep...I kept coughing and sneezing..." Her serious side surfacing when she heard the proffered explanation, Jade stepped up and placed the back of her hand against Téa's forehead, exclaiming as she jerked her hand back. "Your forehead is like a roaring furnace," she said, brown eyes full of worry.

"Is Téa alright?" came the worried inquiry.

Startled, both girls turned around to find Ricky, Jade's boyfriend and sweetheart, standing behind them, peering at Téa worriedly. Jade gave him a mock-angry punch to the shoulder, making a wrinkle in his royal-blue and white school uniform. "Don't startle me like that!" she scolded, before standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Téa's sick," Jade murmured, before turning back to survey her friend. "We're lucky today's a shortened day, which means we can leave school now since we have our fourth period class free. Of course," she added, a hint of oblique criticism in her voice, "not that I'd leave my friend to suffer like this while I snore through another class in this Kami-forsaken school. Come on, Téa, I'm taking you back to my house. You can't stay at home by yourself." Ricky only chuckled, knowing as well as anyone that their high school, Tokyo Naniyori Kokusai High School, was not only the best high school in Tokyo but in practically all of Japan. As much as Jade went on about snoring through her classes, she had an excess of school spirit that proved to be an asset.

Téa lifted puffy eyes to her friend, eyeing her uniform. Like Jade, Téa was a member of cheerleading team for their high school. They were in the same squad, but Jade was the assistant coach and captain of the team. "Why ARE you wearing your uniform today?" Téa asked, her voice cracking slightly before going hoarse. Jade shot her another look of concern, before replying nonchalantly, "It's a shortened day...you know that means the head of sports teams meet with the principal. Today one of the yearbook photographers needed a picture of me and Coach for the year book. So I had to be in full cheer uniform." Jade plucked at the brightly-colored uniform's pleated skirt.

Her own messenger-style book bag strapped securely across her body from her left shoulder, Jade took Téa's book bag, ignoring the brunette's protests as she turned around to speak to Ricky. "You need to let the others know...Joey and Tristan are probably with Yugi somewhere, and Kaiba's probably somewhere nearby if Yugi's around...and Cori, Rasma, and Susan are in choir fourth period. Do you think you can find them and have everyone meet up at my place?"

Ricky nodded, his golden, blue-green eyes concerned as they locked on Téa. "Are you sure you don't want me to walk with you two right now? If something happens and she, well...you know..." and Ricky lowered his voice so that the blue-eyed brunette wouldn't hear, "collapses..."

"Then I am more than capable of picking her up and carrying her if need be," Jade said firmly, reminding her boyfriend that she wasn't captain of the cheerleading team for nothing. As captain, she had to be able to be fill base, flier, and tumbler positions as the need arose, the first of which meant being able to support at least your body weight half again or twice over. Jade also knew that Téa's parents were away for the next several months on overseas business, and wanted to keep a close eye on her friend, to make sure nothing went wrong in battling the nasty sickness that had taken hold of her.

"Just find the others...especially Yugi...he'll be worried about her," Jade replied, raising an eyebrow significantly. Ricky nodded acquiescence. "If you need anything, call me," he said, tapping the pocket that held his cell phone. With a nod, Jade turned her head to receive the quick kiss that Ricky bestowed on her, and gently taking Téa by the elbow, girlfriend and boyfriend parted to set about their separate tasks.

It had been an hour since they had left school, and Jade and Téa had almost reached Jade's house on Shinsei Blvd. Normally, it only took Jade half an hour to walk to school every morning, but today it took twice as long getting home because of Téa's failing equilibrium and dizziness. Several times, they had had to stop for a few minutes so that Téa could regain her bearings before proceeding.

Admittedly, by the time Jade fumbled for the keys to her main door, her stomach was roiled with frustration and worry. She had never seen Téa as ill as she was today. Usually, the girl kept herself in such good health and fitness that she hardly caught more than the sniffles.

Finally, the heavy oak door swung open, revealing the clean, calm, colorful interior of Jade's home. Jade's parents often worked overseas, her father an engineer for an international architectural firm, her mother a fully-trained medical doctor who accompanied diplomats on their trips worldwide, and as a result, were rarely home, if at all. Jade's older sister Jessica, eight years Jade's senior, was an world-renowned surgeon often called to do surgery in Kyoto, Japan and in various cities in the United States, where she and her younger sister were born. Both daughters had dual citizenship with the United States and Japan, which made their living situation that much easier in case they had to follow their parents. Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto every day and back was simply not feasible, and so the older sister had gotten her own place there to spare herself the stress of commuting.

As a result, Jade lived alone in the large two-floor, 5-bedroom house. Despite its size, it had a cozy, comfy feel to it, and was fully furnished so that the guys and girls could spend the night of they so desired, which was a fairly frequent occurrence. There were, of course, the usual teenager's decorations about, including the anime wallscrolls and decorative knick-knacks, but for the most part the house was classically decorated, the theme and color scheme changing with whichever room one was in.

Jade quickly ushered Téa up the large carpeted staircase, and brought the slightly shorter girl to her own bedroom, a fairly large room that was heavily decorated with various cultural items from around the world, anime wallscrolls, and photos. Téa nearly wanted to cry with relief when she saw the nice, plump down-mattress bed that looked so inviting. She nearly slumped over onto it, but Jade was quicker than that and managed to grab Téa by the arm before she fell. "C'mon Téa, you just stand up a little longer hon. I promise, give me another minute and then you can lie down and I'll take care of you."

Téa grudgingly nodded her acquiescence, though deep in her mind she felt terribly guilty that her best friend had to take care of her like this. Tears of frustration finally forced their way out of her eyes, and Jade turned around, a star-patterned blue and yellow cotton yukata robe in her hand. Her eyes widened when she saw her friend weeping. Not knowing what else to do, Jade went over to her and gently started easing the stiff school uniform off her best friend's fevered body, murmuring gently. "Hey Téa, c'mon, don't cry...I'd be a lot more worried if you were at home by yourself...at least here I can keep an eye on you...besides, you know I love having company." Jade had finally managed to get Téa down to her undergarments, and hastily pulled the brightly colored yukata robe over her friend's shoulders and wrapped it securely before she could feel the chill.

With several deft twists of her fingers, Jade tied a slender yellow sash around the yukata to keep it closed and quickly flat-knotted it in back so that Téa could sleep comfortably on her back. Téa nearly wept with relief when she was finally allowed to sink under the warm covers. At her friend's bidding, the fever-stricken girl managed to swallow two acetaminophen tablets. A look of profound relief settling over her weary features seconds after she swallowed the bitter-tasting pills, Téa drifted off into a blissfully blank sleep.

Worriedly, Jade touched her hand to Téa's forehead. _'It's still as hot as a furnace...Yugi will be beside himself when he finds out...'_ Despite the worries fogging her brain, Jade glanced over at the number of pictures adorning her desk and bureau dressers. With the exception of one or two pictures, every single picture Téa figured in showed Yugi by her side, constant and ever-present. A smile crept across Jade's lips as she went to her closet and rummaged for a set of clothes to change into. _'I do hope one of them makes a move,'_ she thought, as she changed out of her cheerleading uniform into a pair of tight black jeans and a pink tube top. _'Or I might just have to start playing matchmaker...'_ Her heavy gold pendant jangled softly on its long chain as she changed, and she smiled, as if it were a sign that a higher power was agreeing with her. Her heart considerably lightened by the delight at this self-induced duty, the brown-eyed teen quickly checked to make sure Téa was asleep, and closed the door softly behind her as she went downstairs.

"Ahhhh, you did it again, Tristan!" Joey commented, brushing back his blonde hair with an impatient twist of his hand.

Tristan crowed his triumph, laughing as he reached over and tousled Joey's hair. "Hey, you almost had me a couple of times." Still looking sour, Joey batted Tristan's hand away. Beyond them, Seto Kaiba was working on something, his serious blue eyes glued to the screen of his expensive laptop.

"Yeah, but I bet if I got my Axe Raider out on the field, I'd have—"

"Are you kidding!? My Cyber Soldier would have creamed him!"

Ricky walked in, unnoticed, on the good-natured squabble and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he watched. His amusement transparent, he listened to Tristan and Joey shoot insults back and forth and noted with a sense of perverse delight the growing ire on Kaiba's face. Although he wasn't like his girlfriend, whose open animosity for the rather impetuous teenager manifested itself as outright insults and well-founded threats, Ricky himself wasn't all that fond of Seto Kaiba either. Granted, he was a virtual systems genius, and was positively amiable when it came to his little brother Mokuba, but he often flaunted the fact that he was rolling in mountains of cash, a source of constant irritation to practically everyone around him. In fact, the only one who seemed to be able to stand him at all was his girlfriend, Rasma.

Mokuba, on the other hand, was a fine young man, and, not surprisingly, the best friend of Ricky's younger brother Robert. Both brothers were two years junior to their older brothers, and got along perfectly, though, as often as not, got themselves into scrapes that their siblings had to rescue them from. Mokuba, unlike Seto, was a cheerful, uncomplaining teenager, who was at least possessed of the mind that NOT everything in the world was about being the best.

Shaking his head to clear it of his reverie, Ricky looked back up, his grin widening when he saw that Joey and Tristan were still going at it.

"Naw, man, I'm tellin' ya, the Flame Swordsman would have had you—"

"And I'm saying he wouldn't stand a chance against Dragon Seeker—"

"Do the both of you ever shut up?"

Startled, both Joey and Tristan stared, openmouthed, at Kaiba, who was glaring at them, irritation and indignity obvious on his face. Joey immediately became defensive.

"Hey, what business is it of yours what we talk about? We have every right to be here and talk how we want. You don't like it, you can just take that fancy computer of yours and shove it right up your—"

Deciding that now was the time to intervene before things got ugly, Ricky stepped smoothly between the two rivals. "Well, this is certainly fortunate. I've found you three. C'mon, get your things together. We're going to go get the girls and head over to Jade's."

Kaiba gave him a suspicious look. "Why?"

Ricky turned cool eyes on him. "Because Téa's sick, and Jade might need our help if she's going to take care of Téa until she's better."

"Téa's sick? What's wrong with her? She looked kinda tired in class this morning, but I thought she'd been up studying again..." Tristan looked genuinely concerned.

Rick's eyes shadowed briefly with irritation at Kaiba's attitude, but he noted that the millionaire teenager didn't hesitate to shut his laptop and pack it up to leave. There was no love lost between Kaiba and Téa, but at least Seto did respect the fact that she was sick and that her caretaker might need assistance in her altruism. Likewise, Joey and Tristan were hurriedly putting away their Duel Monsters decks and packing up their bookbags so that they could get going. _'Maybe I ought to mention it to Jade...and she won't try to kill him so much next time'_ Ricky thought with idle amusement. It was just then that Ricky realized something. He looked around for a certain tri-colored haired teen.

"Where's Yugi?"

Kaiba gave an impatient snort, but quelled it immediately at Ricky's stern glance. It was Tristan who spoke in response to the question. "I'm not sure...he left a few minutes before you came...said he had to take care of something."

"Did he leave any clue as to what he was planning on doing?"

All three teens shook their heads. Ricky sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Taking out his cell, he speed-dialed Yugi. The phone rang once, twice, three times, and then came the friendly voice of Rick's best friend.

"Hi, you've reached Yugi Mutou! I can't make it to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you! Have a great day!"

Wincing at the almost sickening friendliness of the message, Ricky had no choice but to do exactly as the phone instructed. "Yo, Yugi, it's Rick. Me and the others will be heading over to Jade's place for the rest of the afternoon. Téa's sick, and Jade's decided to take care of her over the weekend, so we're all going to pitch in and do what we can. Call me back when you get this message. Later."

Ricky had just hung up his phone and shoved it back into his pocket when he was suddenly bowled over by the force of two miniature hurricanes. Or, in this case, two little brothers. With a grin for the result of their combined efforts, Mokuba and Robert cheered when Rick managed to straighten up after nearly been thrown into the floor face first. Glaring at the two, he muttered, "Why do you two ALWAYS do that?"

Grinning impudently, sporting a looped barbell earring in one ear, much to Ricky's irritation, Robert shrugged, the good-natured grin threatening to cleave his face in two. "Because...you're my BROTHER," Robert replied cheekily. Mokuba grinned, and acknowledged his own brother with an admiring gaze. Brushing himself off, Ricky glanced at the two irrepressible adolescents. "Well, you two go get your things. We're going over to Jade's place. Téa's sick. Jade's taking care of her for the weekend."

Mokuba's eyes widened with worry. Even if his big brother wasn't close Robert's friends, he himself still cared. And he was quite sure that Seto did too, even if he didn't show it very much. "What's wrong with her?"

Ricky shrugged. "She had a fever, her eyes were swollen, and her voice was hoarse. It sounds like the flu to me. So the both of you make sure you have everything you need for the weekend." Smiling impishly, the pair of younger brothers patted their backpacks. "Already did," Mokuba said with a grin.

"Yes! We're going to go to Jade-nee-sama's house! I call dibs on playing the Inuyasha game! I wonder if she'll make those dumplings for us like she did last time," Robert added, his eyes glazing over as he drooled at the thought of the delicious meat dumplings his "big sister" had made last time.

A hard slap upside the head left Robert rubbing a bruise and muttering angrily. Ricky snorted. _'I swear...sometimes I wonder if the only reason he's so eager to go there all the time is because of the food and video games.'_

"Let's get going then, and get the girls...maybe by then we'll know where Yugi is," Ricky said.

"No need," came a smooth reply.

All six boys looked up to find three pretty teenage girls at the door, each wearing a different expression. Rasma, with knee-length, curly ink-black hair and slightly crazed-looking sky-blue eyes, squealed happily before she pounced on Kaiba, smothering him with hugs and kisses as they crashed down to the floor. The sea-green-haired, sky-blue-eyed Susan awarded Joey a perfunctory kiss on the cheek, and the speaker, Cori, brushed aside a wisp of her long bright-blonde hair, her bright purple eyes flashing, as she strutted in and proprietarily pinched Tristan's cheek. The three girls were Tea and Jade's other best friends at Naniyori Kokusai High, and as varied in their tastes and interests as the phases of the moon.

"How long were you listening!?" Kaiba demanded, as he tried, without much success, to unwind Rasma's arms from around his neck so he wouldn't suffocate. His words were promptly cut off by a happy squeal from the hyperactive girl as she hugged him tighter, effectively cutting off his breathing air. Robert and Mokuba were laughing hysterically, practically howling on the floor at the scene the two older teenagers made.

Yanking the dazed-looking Tristan's ear without protest from her devoted boyfriend, Cori awarded Kaiba a slightly irritated look. "Long enough to know that we have to go to Jade's place on account that Téa's sick. And that Yugi is MIA. And that if you don't STOP, Ras, you're going to choke your boyfriend to death!" Cori glared at her friend, who immediately released her death grip on the multi-millionaire, allowing him to breathe and get up, his face dreamily glazed-over and covered with kiss marks.

Ricky felt a headache starting. "Kami...let's just get out of here..." he sighed, rubbing his right temple wearily. "We still have to find Yugi...oh forget it, I'll just wait til he calls back...let's just go."

With an assortment and volume of noise equal to that of a small parade, the group of teenagers departed.

**Author's Notes:**

Reviews are appreciated! The title may seem somewhat sappy, but I promise, its significance will become strikingly clear as the story progresses! And yes, all the characters I've introduced are reincarnations of Pharaoh's peers back in ancient Egypt! Stay tuned for more adventurey and romancey goodness!


	2. Kaiba Soup and Road Rage

**Author's Notes:**

Hey there minna-san! Well, I've made it through Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne not without a little difficulty! I apologize to my readers for my prolonged absence, but I promise, I'm back and ready to write and post! Most of my fics are centered around Yugi/Tea (Yuugi/Anzu) romances and Sesshoumaru/Rin romances, of course. And, of course, I'll publish chapters whether you review or not, but your input not only makes those chapters appear faster, it also gives me ideas and pointers for more fics! Reviews, of course, are always much appreciated! Arigato gozaimasu to all the people who sent me reviews!!!

'_italics_' -signifies thoughts  
(...) -signifies Yami Yugi speaking to Yugi  
:...: -signifies Yugi speaking to Yami Yugi

-Sorry that I had to change the way that Yami and Yugi communicate with each other, but the brackets I had used previously, the square brackets and set brackets, suddenly don't seem to want to work anymore...if anyone knows how to fix this or if they're just not usable anymore, please let me know, as I would prefer to keep a consistent method. Personally, I liked using the other brackets, so if anyone has the answer to my question it'd be great if I could get an answer.  
-Please note too that I'm changing the rating of the story, because of the use of explicit language. Unfortunately, this explicit language is necesary for several of the characters.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its subsequent plots and characters. All of these wonderful things belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Here's translations of the Japanese I use in my fics:  
**Nani?** -What?  
**Aa/Un** -Yes,yeah (first is men only, second women only)  
**Udon** - soup, usually with seaweed, vegetables, seafood, meat, or any combination thereof  
**Soba** - buckwheat noodles that are delicious in udon  
**Urusai** -shut up  
**Minna-san** -everyone  
**Arigato gozaimasu** -thank you very much

Enjoy!

-Pharaohess Yami Anzu

* * *

**Imagine My Heart Was Yours**

**Chapter 2-Kaiba Soup and Road Rage**

Jade took the lid off the pot and took a tentative sniff of the udon she was cooking. "Almost done," she murmured softly to herself, using a large wooden spoon to poke at the large soba noodles, bits of seafood, beef, and chicken that swam in the clear brown broth. She ladled out a massive bowl of it and into dropped five clear drops of fluid from a blue vial in her medicine cabinet. She sighed as she watched the medicine disappear into the soup. _'I keep telling myself, it's for Téa's own good.'_ She hurriedly set a Japanese tea pot and two cups on the tray, as well as a small plate of miniature sweet pork buns, along with a small plate of farfalle pasta slathered with a generous helping of her homemade pesto sauce. Before she went upstairs, she quickly drank a cup of Echinacea tea. _'I'll have to remind everyone else to do the same thing...the last thing I need it another dozen sick people to worry about...'_ Sighing, Jade walked carefully up the stairs and into her room where she was letting Téa stay until she made her convalescence.

After bumping the door open with her rear, Jade was glad to see that Téa was awake and sitting up. Judging by the yawns, her timing had very nearly been perfect.

"I'm glad to see that my punctuality hasn't faded in the years I've known you," Jade teased, setting the heavily laden tray on the bed. Téa gave her a wan smile, though she said nothing. Jade gently touched a hand to her forehead. "Your fever's down!" she chirped happily. "How're you feeling?"

Téa sighed. "Like a baby still in diapers...and are you trying to kill me with all this food!? I could never finish half of this, let alone all of it!" Grinning, Jade picked up a pork bun and popped it into Téa's mouth mid-protest, earning a cough and a reproving glare from her best friend. It was well-worth the reprimand to Jade to see the delight on Téa's face as she chewed the offering and swallowed. Jade pointed to the chopsticks. "Eat, and I'll pour tea for you. You have to finish all of this. You need strength to heal, and if you even so much as open your mouth in protest I'll force twice this amount into that stubborn stomach of yours!"

Clearly, Téa had been about to say something, for she closed her mouth quickly at the mock-threat and set about plucking the thick soba noodles and bits of calamari and crab cake from the udon her friend had prepared, gagging a bit at the bitterness of the medicine she could taste in the thick broth.

Téa made a face. "You drugged this, didn't you?"

Jade's reply was nonchalant as she set a steaming cup of tea down in front of her friend. "Of course...you know I don't care much for conventional medicine...I only gave you those acetaminophen tablets earlier to help bring your fever down. I use herbs and natural medicines whenever I can. Better for the body."

Téa gave an indelicate snort, but said nothing as she hungrily gobbled down the large meal that her best friend had brought her. She exclaimed happily at the pesto farfalle...it wasn't often that she had a chance to eat good Italian, and eagerly wolfed it down. She gave Jade a pointed look as her chopsticks plucked out a mass of calamari tentacles, their suction cups curled outward, and giggled. "Tentacle soup," she said with a smirk. Jade giggled back, the long chain around her neck jangling cheerfully. "Eat," she scolded gently, and she poured Téa a cup of tea. "And drink this. Echinacea. It'll boost your immune system efficiency. The flu you have is probably that pernicious one that's been making rounds about Tokyo. Which means you'll need all the help you can get."

Téa nodded, and sipped the boiling hot tea tentatively, enjoying its minty aroma and flavor. Her eyes rested on the large pendant that sat on the gold chain around her friend's neck. Her eyes flickered briefly, as though she were recalling memory that had once been long forgotten, but the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come about. "What's that? Ricky's got the same one around his neck too, hasn't he?" she asked.

Jade's hands stilled a moment. She raised her face to let the sunlight streaming through the window warm her cheeks. Slowly, her right hand closed around the magnificent pendant. There was silence for a few moments. "Yes," she finally said. "Ricky and I went to Egypt once with our families when we were younger...I think Ricky and I were five or six at the time...we were exploring one of the pyramids...and we got separated from our parents. We were lost, and it was dark. I was scared, and started crying. Ricky tried to calm me, even though I knew he was scared too. I...I think we fell asleep, because it was...well...almost a sort of dream...there was...a man and a woman who came to us...they looked like a Pharaoh and Pharaohess...and they said that we would be okay, now that Ricky and I were together...and they put something around our necks...these pendants...and disappeared." She turned her head around, and Téa was startled to see tears in her eyes. "Sometimes, I think that it must have been a dream, because Ricky and I woke up later...we heard our parents calling for us, and they found us in that dark chamber...but that doesn't explain...how we had _these_ around our necks when we left the pyramid." With that, her right hand held up the large, ornate gold pendant that hung around her neck.

Téa studied the pendant carefully. It was a large, ornately drawn eye, surrounded by the lines of a five-point star. The eye was not like the eye on Yugi's Millennium puzzle, but more decorative, with an elaborate eyebrow over the top eyelid and two curled lines leading from the bottom one. Téa's head tilted to one side. "What is it?" she asked.

Jade looked down at the pendant and smiled. "I'm not entirely sure. I've looked it up in several texts. Ricky's pendant is a mirror image of mine, and according to what we've been able to find out, the eye shapes are supposed to be the Eyes of Ra. We could, of course, be mistaken, but we've never been able to find more than that one obscure reference."

Téa had been about to reply, but instead of her usual sweet voice, a hacking cough erupted from her mouth. Startled, Jade whipped around and was at her friend's side instantly, bidding her to lie down and rest. "You're pushing yourself far too much...rest. The others will be here soon, and we'll come up and see you once you've gathered up enough strength." Dizzy from lack of oxygen with all the coughing, Téa could do little more than nod acquiescence, lie down, and promptly fall asleep as Jade, a worried frown coloring her face, took up the empty bowls and plates and went back downstairs.

-----------------------------------

Laughing, trading jokes, gossiping, and chatting, the group of nine teenagers made their way up to the large house, and Ricky used his spare key to open the door. The crowd of teenagers spilled into the living room, leaving Jade smiling as she swept among them, setting a ray of tea, teapot, and cups down on the coffee table. "My timing's very good," she said, smiling as she knelt down on a cushion to pour tea. Ricky grinned and lounged about on the Italian leather loveseat, the heavy gold pendant on the gold chain around his neck a stark contrast against the royal blue suit jacket of his school uniform. He accepted the cup of Echinacea tea and a kiss from his girlfriend with a wide grin on his face. "You all have to drink this tea. It's Echinacea. With Téa sick with that nasty flu going around, you're going to need the boost in your immune system that this gives you."

She passed out full cups of tea, and was cleaning the teapot in the kitchen and plucking steamed pork buns out of the bamboo steamer when she heard a yell.

Still clutching the large slicing knife that she had been using to slice pickled ginger for the sushi she was rolling, she rushed into the living room to find Kaiba dancing around on the spot, yelling at the top of his voice, with the rest of the gang was howling with laughter prostrated on the floor in a number of different positions. Rasma was giggling hysterically, attempting, with no degree of success, to grab at Kaiba's pants.

Ricky fell on Jade, nearly toppling her, laughing so hard he was starting to turn red. "What the hell happened?" Jade asked, struggling to hold Ricky's heavily muscled bulk up with her free arm. She felt something latch onto her leg and gave a yell, nearly kicking Robert in the face. Luckily, she inhibited her reflex in time, and gave her "little brother" an irritated look, shaking her leg, with little success at actually dislodging him. Robert was laughing hysterically, and managed, between gasps, to explain what happened.

"Kaiba was drinking his tea... and Rasma decided at that point... to 'playfully' bite his ear...he jumped, and spilled the hot tea...RIGHT ON HIS CROTCH! And then...Rasma...said...oh Kami this is too funny...she said, 'Want me to kiss it and make it all better?'"

Jade startled giggling, much to Kaiba's irritation. Trying desperately to keep Rasma's hands pinned to her sides, only to have her squeal and wiggle loose to try and grab his crotch from a different angle, Kaiba was turning bright red from a combination of embarrassment and fury that everyone was laughing at him and had witnessed him in the height of humiliation. It was Jade's well-practiced shriek that finally silenced the general furor.

"Minna-san...oe...OE, MINNA-SAN URUSAI!"

Everyone finally fell completely silent, staring at Jade as she stood, arms akimbo, knife in the air, before breaking into chatter. Taking a deep breath, Jade managed to calm herself._ 'Good...chatter is good. It won't wake Téa up.'_ Robert latched onto Jade's arm. "Ne ne, Jade-Nee-sama, can we eat now? Pleeeease?" Jade smiled, and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Of course, Nii-chan. And before you blister my ears asking, yes, you can play on the Playstation 2. The Inuyasha game is on the second shelf of the entertainment center. You and Mokuba can play as much as you like."

Grinning, Mokuba dashed to the entertainment center and hurriedly pulled out the game, while Robert smiled up at Jade again. "Are we going to have some of those yummy dumplings? And those steamed pork buns? And some of the pesto pasta you made last time me and Yugi and Ricky were here? Please?"

Kaiba gave an indelicate snort. "How desperate are you to eat the slop that she cooks?"

In a split second, the entire room fell deathly silent, everyone staring, openmouthed, at Kaiba's heedless crowing of what might as well have been blasphemy. Even Mokuba was staring at his brother, knowing full well that Jade's wrath would come crashing down on his big brother's head any second.

In a mere moment, Jade had pinned Kaiba against the wall with her free arm and held the sharp, glinting slicing knife directly over his jugular vein in his neck. Her brown eyes were narrowed in fury, the pink and brown bands of her hair waving behind her. Kaiba fell silent, gritting his teeth against the feel of the blade pressed against his skin. When Jade spoke, it was in a low, fierce tone of voice that made everyone in the room shiver. "Insult me like that again, and I'll rip off your limbs with my bare hands, use your blood to boil them into stew, and force feed the whole lot into that vicious mouth of yours. Got it?"

Though he was furious, Kaiba said nothing. He knew he shouldn't have said anything against Jade, especially as he actually had no problem with her cooking. Wanting to be released from the death-grip, and especially wanting the knife away from his critical vein, he had been about to nod assent to her hiss of fury when a sudden loud ringing drew everyone's attention to Ricky's pocket. Ricky colored up like beet when everyone recognized the ringtone as "Bye Bye Bye" by N'Sync.

Hastily answering his phone, Ricky fruitlessly waved his hand for silence amid the gales of laughter. "Could you guys at least shut up!? That's Yugi's ringtone! He called us back!" Everyone else continued to laugh hysterically, but Jade, who still had Kaiba pinned against the wall, though she had removed the knife from pressing against his vein, fell silent immediately, snapping at everyone to quiet down, which succeeded only slightly. Jade strained her ears to try and listen in on the quick conversation that Ricky had with Yugi, but to no avail. Ricky spoke a few quick, low sentences, then nodded, made a noise of agreement, and hung up the phone. He looked over at Jade, raising his eyebrow significantly. "He was in a duel on the other side of Tokyo, Ueno district."

Abruptly, Jade released her hold on Kaiba, letting him fall back to the floor and regain his bearings. She turned to Ricky. "Street? Intersection?" she asked crisply. "Corner of Ryuuko and Matsuri." Jade nodded, and tossed the slicing knife to Cori, who caught it midair deftly. "Cori, I'm going to dish out the food...can you finish slicing chives for me? I'm going to drive to get Yugi."

Cori nodded, and hauled Tristan off the couch by the ear, dragging him to the kitchen with her. "Slice!" the blonde-haired, violet-eyed girl said. Almost as if an afterthought, she firmly grabbed Tristan's face and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. The brown-haired boy nearly melted to the floor like a puddle of butter, and with a happily glazed-over quality becoming notably apparent in his eyes, he immediately started slicing. Cori grinned cattily, and with a smirk, applied herself to the task of plucking steamed pork buns from the steamer and setting them on serving plates. Jade plucked the steaming dumplings from the broiler, and quickly ladled out several large serving bowls of pesto. Bidding Tristan to carrying the plates and utensils, Cori helped Jade set the food in front of the hungry group of teenagers.

With an exclamation directed toward Susan and Robert to put their game controllers down, Jade made placed choice portions on Ricky and Robert's plates, earning an "Arigato Jade-nee-sama!" from her "little brother". Susan, likewise, did the same for Mokuba, who thanked her with an "Arigato, Susan-nee-sama!" Jade gave Susan a pointed look, giving Robert a protective pat on the head as she stood up and snatched her car keys from her purse. "Susan, stop using Kikyo in that game...it's totally unfair. And no corner-locking, both of you."

There was a mumble of agreement from Robert's stuffed mouth, and general murmurs of agreement from random people in the room. Idly twirling a pink lock of hair around her fingers as she walked to the door, Jade turned and grinned. "It's too easy to win with her character...not to mention cheap. So let's refrain from use of the ceramic bitch, shall we? I'm off...if I'm not back in an hour, start worrying."

Ricky glowered at the flippant remark, but gave her a kiss on the cheek all the same. "Don't let anyone both Téa," Jade murmured, and in swish of pink and brown, was out the door.

----------------------------------------

Music blasting, all of her thirty-seven radar detectors on, and the occasional spike of irritation jabbing her as she wove in and out of traffic, Jade sped along the boulevard toward the Ueno district. It was only mid-afternoon, but the traffic today seemed especially offensive.

A deep feeling of unease raced up her spine, and Jade felt all of her senses kick into overdrive. _'Something's not right...I have to find Yugi and get him out of here...'_ Her eyes scanning the crowds of people as she approached the intersection where Yugi had said he was, Jade gripped the steering wheel harder with each passing moment that she didn't spot him.

With a breath of relief, Jade's escalating worry was mollified when she spotted him. _'Ah, it's him. Good.'_ As if by instinct, Yugi turned his head and caught Jade's eyes. He nodded, and stately walked over to the curb where Jade pulled up. "Hop on in," Jade said cheerfully, lowering the volume of the music to a semi-audible level.

A small smile graced Yami's face as he climbed in and buckled up. Very few were able to discern the difference between Yugi and himself. Jade and Ricky were among those few.

"I hope you won't mind the blasting music. And speeding."  
Yami knew there was something she wasn't saying. "Is there a particular reason you need to speed?"

Jade said nothing, trusting her silence to answer that question for her. _'Besides...I've got this nasty feeling that we're being watched...whatever moron's going to try to screw with me is going to regret it...big time.'_

"Better safe than sorry. Linkin Park alright with you?" she asked, tapping a button on her steering wheel.  
"Aa.." Yami's reply came as little more than a murmur of assent.

Although she was serious where their possible pursuit was concerned, Jade's naturally vivacious and risky personality surfaced, and a daring smile crept onto her lips. She grinned at Yami, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as the music pounded through the silver Pontiac.

"_I am a little bit of loneliness  
__A little bit of disregard  
Handful of complaints  
__But I can't help the fact  
__That everyone can see these scars"_

In a few mere seconds, Jade's instincts were proven completely correct. Out of the dispersing sunlight behind her car, several motorcycles, modified ones, by the look of them. Jade's eyes narrowed. All 5 motorcyclists wore black, their trenchcoats flying out behind them as they menacingly drew closer.

Nonchalantly, she spoke. "We have company. Make sure you're buckled in. Tight."  
Yugi glanced in the passenger side mirror, glowering silently. "They pursued me after the duel in the Ueno district."  
"And they wanted your Millennium Puzzle, didn't they?  
"Aa."  
Jade's smile turned grim. "Then they'll have to go through me first." Unknown to either of the car's occupants, Jade's pendant started to glow with an unearthly gold sheen, almost as if in anticipation of the fight that would inevitably face them.

With the quick press of a button on her steering wheel, the stereo panel folded back to reveal several LED-lit buttons. Yami lifted a slender eyebrow in a silent question. _'What is she doing?'_

Still tapping her fingers and bopping her head to the beat of her Linkin Park music, Jade hit a large, glowing green button.

"_I am what I want you to want  
__What I want you to feel  
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you  
To just believe this is real  
  
So I let go, watching you  
__Turn your back like you always do  
Face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here cause you're all that I got"  
_

In one instant, all the lights and sights and sounds became a massive blur. In a roar of two V-8 engines, a burst of blue and green flame, and a blast of burning nitrous oxide, the two occupants of the silver Pontiac shot forward at 150 mph.

"_I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored"  
  
_Though he wished desperately not show any weakness, especially in front of one of his friends, Yami could not help but grip the seatbelt over his chest convulsively as the car suddenly shot forward and steadily accelerated. Her face set in determined lines, Jade allowed herself a glance out the rearview mirror. She noted, with a morbid sense of satisfaction, that the nitrous oxide boost that erupted out of her exhaust pipes had successfully felled three of the cyclists who had been closely tailing her car. Two were still in hot pursuit, and Yami watched with a sense of apprehension as they drew closer. Yugi appeared next to him, invisible to Jade, though she was able to sense somehow that his presence was with her and Yami.

Jade tilted her head in greeting to Yugi, which would have been uncannily accurate, except for the fact that her eyes were focused about three feet left of Yugi's actual position. Yami smiled secretively to himself. 'Perceptive though she is, there are certain benefits to being the only one to be able to see Yugi.'

Yugi, for his part, was glancing out the window apprehensively at the street and traffic lights that were streaking by, his hands tightening convulsively over empty air, as though silently wishing that several safeholds would magically appear out of nowhere.

_"I am a little bit insecure  
A little unconfident  
Cause you don't understand  
I do what I can  
But sometimes I don't make sense  
  
I am what you never want to say  
But I've never had a doubt  
It's like no matter what I do  
I can't convince you for once just to hear me out"  
  
_

"The damn jackass bastards," Jade suddenly muttered under her breath. Yami twisted around to glance out the rear windshield. Both of the pursuers who had survived the scorching flames of the NOS blast had drawn guns and were pushing their engines to their limits in an attempt to get closer to the speeding Pontiac. Reaching under her seat, she quickly withdrew two items—a bullet-proof vest and a katana. Yami's eyes widened, however imperceptibly. "They're trying to get closer for better aim...here." She tossed the bullet-proof vest to him. "Just in case. Get it on quickly. I need you to steer."

Halfway through getting the vest on, Yami turned massive amethyst eyes on Jade, not believing that he'd just heard what she had said. Jade grinned at him, winked, and hit the button, savoring the rush of cool air as the sunroof slid open. The gleaming white sheath of the katana reflected the colors of the lights outside the car window, and with a smile raising the corners of her mouth, the pink and brown-haired teen drew the gleaming, deadly sharpened 420 steel blade from its resting place. Without a word, Jade grasped the edge of the sunroof with her left hand and hoisted herself out and up onto the car roof.  
  
_"So I let go, watching you  
Turn your back like you always do  
Face away and pretend that I'm not  
But I'll be here cause you're all that I got"_

Sailing out onto the top of the car, Jade landed lightly on the roof, the blade's grip resting comfortably in her hand, her legs bent for combat, a carnal, almost vicious smile gracing her face. The pursuers, whose features Jade was beginning to discern, drew closer, their smiles condescending and confident, assured that their quarry was practically in their grasp. Without another word, the pair opened fire.

"_I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored"  
_

In a display of seeming unnatural skill, the teenage girl deflected the shots expertly with the gleaming blade, their pinging sounds ringing through the air, an unearthly smile coloring her face, as though she reveled in the glory of this fight. Around her neck, the pendant glowed with ferocious intensity, as though responding to her wish to protect the boy and Pharaoh who were currently within. Down below, Yugi was panicking as he gave Yami frantic instruction on how to steer the speeding vehicle.

:No, no, no! You have to grab the wheel and turn it in the direction you want to go! You have to hold it steady until we have to turn!:

Clearly perplexed, though refusing to lose his calm, Yami reached over and grabbed the wheel, providing the steadiness that Yugi needed to control himself and give him coherent instructions.

(So I must turn the wheel to guide the vehicle?)  
:Exactly.:  
(I'm not familiar with where we're going.)  
:We're going to Jade's place. I know how to get there.:

Relieved that their apparent danger had now passed, Yugi jumped at the sounds of gunshots being fired.

:They have guns!:  
(Is Jade in danger?)  
:I don't know...:

This did nothing to soothe Yami's worried mental state. Bent over awkwardly to control a vehicle that was racing down the street, which thankfully, had been a series of fairly deserted alleyways, an lacking knowledge of what was happening to his ally up above was a position he did NOT like being in.  
  
"_Now  
Hear me out now  
You're gonna listen to me, like it or not  
Right now  
Hear me out now  
You're gonna listen to me, like it or not  
Right now  
  
I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored"  
  
_

Up atop the roof of the car, Jade was through with her business of deflecting bullets. Their pursuers had run out of bullets and were trying to reload when she launched her own offensive. In a feat of derring-do, she leapt off the roof of the car and landed directly on one of the pursuers, slicing his hood off with her katana to reveal his tattooed face and a distinct mark carved directly into his left cheek. The sight of that distinct mark woke somethingin the teenage girl, and within seconds an inner power took over her, unleashing the righteous fury that had been hidden away so long.  
  
Jade stared down icily at her opponent, who had lost all semblance of control at the stunning transformation that had just taken place. Her voice an unearthly, deadly whisper, Jade shoved the point of the katana against the pursuer's throat, uttering the last words he would ever hear. "I will protect the Pharaoh, no matter the cost." With a single twist, the entity that had taken over Jade's body relieved the man of his life's blood, killing him instantly.

Balancing expertly on the speeding cycle that was quickly losing control, the incarnation inside Jade glanced over at the other assailant, golden-brown eyes studying the situation for a precious split-second, before she reached up with her free hand into the shining pink and brown locks of hair.  
  
_"I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
  
I can't feel the way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal this damage anymore  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored"_

The other cyclist, his face partially obscured by his hood, successfully reloaded his firearm and was about to unleash a flurry of slugs into the infuriating target across from him, when a sharp hissing sound from his gas tank caught his attention. Before he could register the fact that the fuel tank had been punctured, the cycle exploded in a blaze of blue and orange flame, the assailant now only an indistinct fireball amongthe inferno. The source of the punctured tank flew through the air with the rest of the debris, red-hot and barely noticeable—a hairpin.

Regretting the loss of the pretty decorative hairpin, though not without a triumphant smile on her face, the incarnation quickly decided to ditch the bike. With a surge of forward power, she leapt forward, casting the bike from her as she landed lightly on the trunk of the car and took another step forward to make good her re-entry back into the passenger cabin, and as quickly and unexpectedly as she had come, relinquished control back to her alternate soul.

"_I can't feel  
I won't be ignored  
Time won't heal  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored"_

Standing atop the roof of the car, Jade blinked, acknowledging the incarnation's help silently as she realized what had just happened. _'I will protect Yugi, no matter the cost.'_ At that moment, filled with a protective care for Yugi, was the exact moment that the car careened suddenly to the right, slamming Jade hard into the top of the roof as she struggled to stay atop the car. She let out a stream of curses, wincing as she felt a bruise coming up on her right shoulder.

Having heard the blast reslting from the explosion of the motorcycle tank and seeing their pursuers gone from the rear-view mirror, Yami let out a small, inaudible breath of relief. Unfortunately, his lapse in attention proved to be quite inopportune.

And it was at that moment that a very particular obstacle made itself known.

:YAMI! The street's curving! Turn left, turn left!:

Startled by the sudden exclamation, Yami jerked the steeling wheel right, grimacing when Yugi made his mistake crystal-clear.

:OTHER LEFT!:

Yami jerked the steeling wheel hard to the left just in time, and was awarded with a hard thud on the roof and a stream of colorful curses from Jade's nearby voice. A pair of feet appeared in the sunroof, and in a split second, Jade had jumped right back into the driver's seat, sitting as though she had never left it, looking quite unruffled, though she had been outside in screaming winds but a few seconds ago.

Yami immediately relinquished control f the steering wheel. Jade gave him a mock-angry glare, and then a small smile to assure him that she was all right. Yugi noticed a large bruise that was making itself know on Jade's bared right shoulder, and pointed it out to Yami at once.

"You're hurt," Yami mentioned softly, his eyes slightly narrowed with worry, reaching out a hand to the purpling injury.

Jade's pendant glowed briefly as Yami's hand came closer. Before he could make contact, a strange golden light surrounded the wound of its own accord. A shock of memory blacked out her vision for a split second, and Jade's hands tightened convulsively on the steering wheel.

'_I will protect the Pharaoh, no matter the cost...'_

Yami pulled his hand back, looking to Jade for an explanation. "Don't worry about it," she said quietly, refusing to look at him. "Strange things happen to me all the time..." As if agreeing, the Eye of Ra around Jade's neck glowed all the more intensely. Yami glanced at it, then glanced back out the passenger window at the streetlights streaking past.

"Aa," he said softly, more to himself, though Jade could hear. "Strange things happen all the time..."

Jade manipulated the controls on her steering wheel so the music had dwindled to a soft whisper in the background. A small smile graced her face, which broke the tension that had existed between them a few seconds ago.

"Driving lessons," Jade murmured softly.  
"Nani?" Yami asked.  
She patted the steering wheel. "You'll have to know how to do this sooner or later...and I'd prefer that it be sooner."  
Yami smiled. "Aa..."  
Jade allowed herself a small, secret smile. _'And if I'm feeling particularly fiendish, I'll have Téa teach him the basics...'_

Much buoyed by that thought, Jade smiled as they made a beeline for her house. "Driving lessons..." she murmured. "Tomorrow, we give you driving lessons..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Reviews much appreciated!!! And, of course, th song that I used was Faint, from Linkin Park's Meteora album! Keep your eyes open for another story starring this story's cast, the first chapter of which will be going up in a couple of days! Many thanks to all my readers!

-Pharaohess Yami Anzu


	3. Deeper Meanings

**Author's Notes:**

Hey there minna-san! I'm making pretty good progress with my stories, and distributing my time nicely between my Pern club and my anime fanfiction! As you all know, most of my fics are centered around Yugi/Tea (Yuugi/Anzu) romances and Sesshoumaru/Rin romances, of course. I hope to get started on some Sesshoumaru/Rin fics soon, as I have some interesting plot ideas running around in my head. And, of course, I'll publish chapters whether you review or not, but your input not only makes those chapters appear faster, it also gives me ideas and pointers for more fics! Reviews, of course, are always much appreciated! Arigato gozaimasu to all the people who sent me reviews! Keep 'em coming!

'_italics_' -signifies thoughts  
(...) -signifies Yami Yugi speaking to Yugi  
:...: -signifies Yugi speaking to Yami Yugi

-Sorry that I had to change the way that Yami and Yugi communicate with each other, but the brackets I had used previously, the square brackets and set brackets, suddenly don't seem to want to work anymore...if anyone knows how to fix this or if they're just not usable anymore, please let me know, as I would prefer to keep a consistent method. Personally, I liked using the other brackets, so if anyone has the answer to my question it'd be great if I could get a response.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its subsequent plots and characters. All of these wonderful things belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Here's translations of the Japanese I use in my fics:  
**Iie**- no

**Nani?** -What?  
**Aa,Un** -Yes,yeah (first is men only, second women only)  
**Udon** - soup, usually with seaweed, vegetables, seafood, meat, or any combination thereof  
**Ne** – equivalent of 'no?' meaning, "Don't you agree?" or "Don't you think?"

**Oe** - hey  
**Urusai** -shut up  
**Minna-san** -everyone  
**Arigato gozaimasu** -thank you very much

**Karasuhebi** -black snake

Enjoy!

-Pharaohess Yami Anzu

* * *

**Imagine My Heart Was Yours**

**Chapter 3-Deeper Meanings**

It was dusk when Jade and Yugi arrived, the sun outside settling down in a bed of dusky blue and misty orange amid flashes of magenta in the evening sky. Yami had thought it best to allow Yugi control as they approached the lit, welcoming house.

Yugi couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt as Jade let out a small sigh as she fumbled for her keys. Jade glanced over, instantly repentant, and awarded the slightly shorter boy with a friendly pat on the back. "It's alright. It's just been a long day."

Yugi gave a sigh of his own. "I know what you mean, believe me. I guess all the noise and people inside means we're all spending the night again, ne?" he said.

Jade nodded. "Un…I want to make sure no one else gets sick…Téa's already fallen ill from that nasty flu going around the high schools."

Yugi and Yami were alert instantly. "Téa…she's sick? Is she alright? Can I see her? Is it okay? Did she take any medicine? How bad is the flu? Is there anything I can do?" At Yami's gentle admonition, Yugi remembered his manners and clapped his hands over his mouth, a blush making itself apparent on his smooth features.

Jade smiled knowingly, her grin almost wicked as she turned the keys in their locks. "I think," she said, deliberately teasing, "that she will be much happier and feel much better when she sees you. In fact, I'll have you come with me to take some tea up to her, deal?" With a smile for Yugi's eager nod, Jade pushed open the heavy door, her eyes widening as the volume coming from within her home increased exponentially.

And indeed, the scene that met their eyes was almost too bizarre to describe. Robert, Mokuba, and their good friend Ross were all sitting cross-legged on the floor, yelling and howling an assortment of ragged cheers at the television screen as Robert pounded the living daylights out of his game controller, Susan was tangled up in PS2 controller cords and jabbing the buttons furiously as her character fought with Robert's for dominance. Rasma was smothering Kaiba with kisses, squealing as her ever-tightening hug threatened to crack his ribs, though indeed, the multi-millionaire would scarcely have noticed if he'd had a grand piano dropped on him as well. Joey was doing his best to untangle the cords around Susan's ankles while Cori was taking the same untangled cord and wrapping it around Tristan's neck like a leash. Ricky, it appeared, was the only one attempting to be constructive as he did his best to gather several dirty dishes so that he could get them into the dishwasher.

For single moment, Jade and Yugi stood shock-still, until Jade's well-practiced bellow sent everyone stumbling into silence. Thankfully, Yugi had had the foresight to clap his hands over his ears.

"OE MINNA-SAN URUSAI! URUSAI! URUSAI! URUSAI! URUSAI!"

Everyone stood completely still for a few minutes, watching almost fearfully as Jade's ragged breathing resumed its normal pace as she calmed down. "That's better. I'm not going to ask why the volume in my house could deafen an army, since I already know that particular answer, but I respectfully request that YOU ALL KEEP IT DOWN! CAPICHE?"

A variety of muted nods and murmurs answered her query, and Jade patted Ross on the head. "I'm glad to see you, Ross. Did you help yourself out to some food?" Jade smiled when Ross responded with an enthusiastic, though distracted nod, as he had turned his attention back to the video game battle taking place on the television screen.

Ricky was on Jade in an instant, wrapping his arms around her and bestowing her with a very passionate kiss, though he broke it off quickly when he saw how uncomfortable it made Yugi. Rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish expression on his face, Ricky greeted Yugi enthusiastically. "You two make it here all right?" he asked, his gaze chiding as he spotted the bruise on Jade's shoulder. He placed his hand gently on it, his heart thrumming as he saw Jade wince in pain. Jade shrugged away from the painful contact to brush past both Ricky and Yugi, waving her injury off. "It's no big deal. I lost my balance and fell. It'll be gone in a day." Taking the stack of plates from Ricky's hands and depositing them neatly in the dishwasher, she prepared a tray of tea and snacks for Téa. Ricky prepared a plate for Yugi, seeing that the shorter teen was nearly faint with hunger, and managed to snitch a few more dumplings for himself while his girlfriend's back was turned.

"I saw that," Jade said, not even bothering to turn her head around. Rick grinned, mouth full of dumpling, but said nothing as his sweetheart poured Yugi a cup of tea. "Echinacea. Drink it so you won't get sick." Yugi was only too happy to comply as he eagerly wolfed down the variety of pasta, udon, and dumplings, almost as voraciously as Mokuba, Robert, and Ross had.

A sudden eruption of cheers from the living room nearly caused Jade to drop the teapot, and another one of her bellows sent the noise level plummeting once more. With an indignant huff, Jade set the teapot down and went into the living room to see on the TV the replay of Robert's spectacular defeat of Susan in the Inuyasha game. Morbidly entranced, Jade could only stare wordlessly at the screen as it showed Inuyasha's Bakuryuha attack eliminate the rest of Kikyo's life points.

Susan pouted as she reluctantly relinquished the controller to Cori, crossing her arms and huffing, though her mood immediately brightened when Joey gave her a reassuring kiss on the cheek. Cori yanked sharply on the cord to snap Rasma on the butt like a whip, which startled the hyperactive, amorous raven-haired teen, and was enough to rouse her from her kiss-and-strangle-fest long enough to give her boyfriend a chance to breathe. Cori's brilliant lavender eyes narrowed in concentration, and a fight between Robert's Inuyasha and Cori's Kagura began in earnest.

A nagging thought tugged at Jade's conscience, and the memory of the mark she had seen on the pursuer's face flashed briefly into her memory, unsettling her. _'I have to make sure Yugi sees Téa…that will keep them both distracted for a while…then I can talk with Ricky about what happened…and the others will need to know too...'_ Jade gave an indelicate snort. She doubted that Kaiba would openly show any concern where Yugi's welfare was regarded…but she knew that he did care, however remotely.

Ricky noticed the grim and concerned expression on Jade's face and knew at once that her trip to the Ueno district had been a dangerous one. _'Something happened…and it's probably the exact same something that gave her the bruise on her shoulder.'_

The pair exchanged knowing looks, without Yugi any the wiser, but Yami, who had appeared during Jade's brief interlude in the kitchen, knew better. Jade and Ricky were both able to sense Yami's presence, and both gave nods of greeting, however misdirected they were. Yugi, his stomach now pleasantly full, shifted his glance over to his other half.

:Something wrong, Yami:

(Iie…I am glad that you will get a chance to see Téa…)

Yugi stilled, and glanced surreptitiously at Yami.

:You will too, you know…: Yugi left the meaning of his words hanging in the air.

Yami turned his stately, regal head to give the young man an odd look.

(You…know…how I feel then?)

:We both feel the same way, don't we? It's not a bad thing…we're virtually the same person.:

(Aa…)

A hand on his shoulder startled Yugi out of his conversation. Jade gave him an apologetic glance. "Did you want to come up with me to see Téa? I'm sure she'll be quite happy to see you." Yami glanced at Yugi, nodding only once before he disappeared into their soul room. Yugi glanced up at Jade and Ricky, and nodded, standing up from the kitchen table, self-consciously brushing any food crumbs from his blue school uniform. Picking up the tea tray in both hands, Jade stuck her head through the doorway. "We're going up to see Téa, and then Ricky and I will be back down here. Keep it down, okay?" she said, giving the girls significant glances. Each girl surreptitiously nodded. Satisfied with their responses, Jade turned and led Ricky and Yugi up the stairs.

--

Jade pressed her ear against the door, and easily detected the rhythmic breathing that meant that Téa was still asleep. Balancing the tray carefully on one hand, she held a finger over her lips to signal the boys to be quiet. Too impatient to see the girl that he and Yami cared so much for, Yugi pushed open the door, as quietly as he could despite his haste, and strode in, his heart quickening at the sight of her as she lay there.

Ricky relieved Jade of her burden and set the tray down carefully on a small table next to the bed. Jade bent over, her voice barely audible next to Yugi's ear. "Wake her…gently. She'll be glad to see you…she has to eat and drink some tea…it will help her feel better…if you need anything, Ricky and I will be downstairs." Yugi nodded. With a reassuring smile for Yugi that she did not completely feel, Jade took Ricky's proffered arm, and the pair left.

--

Jade and Ricky went a little ways down the hall, before Ricky stopped and turned around, his deep golden blue-green eyes boring into hers. He raised a tentative hand to her shoulder, gently caressing the now black-and-blue bruise. Jade did not pull away or flinch at his touch. One of her own slender hands reached up to brush the silver and blonde-streaked hair off his forehead.

In a fraction of a second, Ricky's arms had wrapped around her and pulled her close. "You're hurt," he said softly. "What happened out there?"

Jade relaxed in his grip, resting her cheek against his chest. "We were attacked…five cyclists. I used the NOX system in my car to take out the three in the center…and then I remember giving Yami a bullet-proof vest and drawing a katana…the rest…"

"A bullet-proof vest? They had guns?" Ricky asked, his eyes widening when he realized the level of danger his girlfriend had just been exposed to. His grip twitched convulsively from fury, and in the very core of his soul Ricky knew that at that exact moment he'd like nothing better than to kill, in the most brutal way possible, the men who had dared try and harm his love so.

Jade nodded. "I was alright…I managed to deflect the gunshots…but the rest…"

"What about the rest?" Ricky prompted her. "Did something…take over?"

Jade looked up into his eyes and nodded. "I can only remember a few things…I remember cutting off one of their hoods and seeing…a…mark on his face…that's when everything became very indistinct…I can't remember much more beyond that…except for an explosion and the words 'I will protect the Pharaoh, no matter the cost.'"

A sudden shock of memory jarred Ricky. "We've heard those words before…" Jade nodded again. "Unfortunately, neither of us can remember exactly from where," she responded, brow furrowed delicately as her mind ran through several possibilities.

"What about the mark on the assailant's face? Can you remember what it looked like at all? Anything?"

Jade felt a tremor of anger as she recalled the repulsive sign etched into the man's face like a carving into a rock. Her eyes glowed strangely golden for a moment as she recalled the image that was embedded in her memory.

She looked up at him, worry clouding her eyes. "It was the mark of a snake."

--

Yugi felt his breath catch as he sat in the armchair next to the bed, hardly daring to breathe, lest he wake Téa up. He could feel Yami stirring inside him, both of them entranced by her auburn hair spread out on the pillow like a mantle, her dewy skin a lustrous peach-pink color, her long lashes resting silently against her cheeks as her sonorous breathing whispered in the air around them.

:She looks...so fragile…almost child-like…I'm almost afraid…:

(Afraid to wake her?)

:Yes…but Jade made it clear that she needs to be woken up.:

(Jade's instructions have never led us astray. Though I do understand what you mean. Her frailty…her vulnerability…her mere mortality…are almost frightening concepts…)

:I wouldn't be able to live without her…her life is my life…without her…:

(Without her, all existence...loses meaning.)

:Aa…:

(Wake her, Yugi…)

His heart fluttering in his chest, Yugi reached out and tenderly touched the side of Téa's face, surprised by its softness and warmth. He felt his heart skip several beats, found his hands trembling as he gently ran them down the curve of her cheek. Of their own accord, his fingers brushed against the silky mahogany strands of her hair, wanting to embed themselves in its feather-like softness.

As one, Yugi and Yami called their love from the world of dreams.

"Téa…"

--

The living room was full of chatter and noise, though it ceased somewhat when Jade and Ricky walked in. Cori and Susan looked up expectantly, and Cori gave Rasma a sharp tap on the butt to get her attention. Rasma let out a startled squeal, but calmed the second Kaiba wrapped his arms around her reassuringly. Kaiba glared at Cori, his dark blue eyes irritated, and Cori's lavender eyes glared right back, her gaze unflickering and challenging.

"Both of you, leave it," Jade said, effectively cutting off any potential conflict. "We have something important to discuss." Ricky nodded agreement, though he wasn't pleased when Robert, Ross, and Mokuba turned around suddenly, their eyes focused expectantly on Ricky and Jade.

Kaiba spoke. "If it's something potentially dangerous, I want Mokuba and his friends out of here. They don't need to hear this," he added, ignoring their indignant protests.

Jade fixed Kaiba with a penetrating stare. "Iie. They will stay. Whatever this is, it's a danger to all of us, and to anyone who's ever had any prolonged relationship or contact with Yugi." Ricky held up a hand to still Kaiba's protests. "They are old enough to know how to stay out of a dangerous situation. But in order to do so they have to know where this danger comes from and what form it takes," Ricky added firmly. Rasma, too, tugged on Kaiba's school-jacket in agreement, and the multi-millionaire could do little more that sit down, unpleased though he was with the situation he had just allowed his little brother to be placed in.

It was Susan who spoke first. "So…exactly what happened?" Jade sighed, and began to explain to them at length what had happened, though she stumbled through the parts that she didn't remember, making the best of the facts she did know to formulate he progression of events. She went through the appearance of their assailants, through the details about dealing with them, and finally rounded up the whole story with the explosion. It was Cori who noticed the expression on Jade's face as the latter had vaguely mentioned the facial marking.

"This mark you're talking about…can you describe it…maybe draw it?" Cori suggested tentatively.

Jade nodded, though a shudder of revulsion was apparent on her features. "Karasuhebi," she muttered indistinctly. The girls exchanged worried glances, but the boys looked at one another in mild bewilderment.

"Huh?" said Kaiba, a dubious frown on his face.

It was Rasma who spoke up suddenly, startling them all. "Black snake," she murmured. Jade nodded. "That was the mark that the man had on his face…the strange thing is that I know I've seen it before…I just can't remember from where." At this point, Kaiba startled everyone by flipping his laptop open and thrusting it at Jade. "Here…draw it…" he offered.

"Un…"

With a stylus, Jade's fingers managed to quickly draw a startlingly accurate likeness to the mark she had seen upon the vile man's visage. The coils of a sinister, thick black snake, its sinister black eye outlined in white, its lethal fangs dripping poison, marred the otherwise immaculate white screen on the tablet laptop. Her fingers trembling, Jade handed the laptop back to Kaiba, who likewise could not resist the sudden revulsion he felt at the sight of the malicious-looking serpent.

Susan tilted her head, her sea-green hair strands rustling slightly. "There has to be some way we can find out what it means…the sooner we do that, the sooner we can figure out who pursued Yugi and Jade."

Joey gave Kaiba a withering look. "C'mon, Mr. Fancy Pants, there must be someway that shiny computer can search for any links with that image." Susan yanked sharply on Joey's blue jacket, giving him a warning look, while Rasma kept Kaiba from rising to the bait.

Kaiba smirked. "As a matter of fact, Wheeler, I can do better than that. I'm linked directly to Kaiba Corporations main server. I'll use the corporate supercomputer to do a world-wide search for this image…and have it bring up all relevant information. Our smart-search engine, Deltus, is more than capable of figuring out what this is."

"There is, of course, the question with how this all relates to Yugi, once we find out what that mark means," Ricky said. "Even if we find out what the black snake is a symbol of…there's no guarantee that we'll be able to figure out exactly who…or what…was behind that attempted ambush."

Cori looked up from putting bows in Tristan's hair. "There isn't a guarantee…it's a gamble, isn't it? Whoever made the attack took a risk in exposing themselves…I say we take advantage of their mistake…and then kick their ass 'til kingdom come," she growled, placing a glittery pink barrette on another lock of her boyfriend's hair.

Jade sank comfortably into the lush couch cushions. "All work and no play make Tristan a dull boy, ne Cori? Is that why you feel the need to dress him up?"

"Hey! I'm just as much fun as anyone else in this room!" Tristan protested. Cori grinned, snapping a yellow rhinestone barrette into place and pinching Tristan's cheek possessively, digging through her bookbag cache of hair ornaments. "It makes my life more sparkly," she replied cheekily, earning an approving snigger from Mokuba, Robert, and Ross.

"Be that as it may, this is still a very serious situation we have on our hands, but now is not a good time for sparkles," Jade said softly. She turned to Kaiba. "Any luck on that search?"

"Aa…hmm, interesting…" he said, placing a thoughtful kiss to Rasma's temple as she leaned in for a closer look, all business now. Adjusting her glasses, she spoke a quick command. "Deltus…display all perfect matches within 10 pictorial error boundary…archive all other information."

A flat, monotonous voice responded. "Perfect matches displayed. All relevant information has been archived."

Cori and Susan glanced at Rasma in mild surprise. Kaiba gave the room a smug smile before giving her a quick kiss. "She's quite intelligent, you know, quite the master of computer programming…she set the framework for Deltus." Amid surprised praise and disbelieving stares, Kaiba and Rasma shared a quick, secret smile.

"Deltus," Jade said suddenly, startling everyone. "Display all applicable information relevant to the keywords 'Ancient Egypt'."

Ricky's eyes lit up in understanding. "They were after Yugi's Millennium Puzzle…it's an item from ancient Egypt…if they want it, linking that mark with the search might better identify who those men were."

Susan idly stroked Joey's hair, her sky-blue eyes quizzical. "But there's also a chance that they might just want to get rid of Yugi…after all, eliminating him means eliminating the best duelist in the world," she said, glancing over at Kaiba.

"That doesn't make any sense," Tristan remarked. "Then that'd mean that they'd be after Kaiba and the rest of us…we've all come a long way since our middle school dueling days," he commented. Cori nodded agreement to his statement, then quickly shoved him back into her lap as she proceeded to affix a bright purple clip to one of his sideburns.

Seeing Rasma's eyes filled with worry, Kaiba patted her arm reassuringly, a derisive snort escaping him. "I'd like them to see whoever these lunatics are come after me…or any of us, for that matter…we have all the resources of Kaiba Corporations to draw on."

"Unless these lunatics are using means other than what the human eye can see," Jade said, her eyes faced forward blankly, as if painfully focused on the future.

A long silence overcame the entire living room, until Deltus' monotone broke it, making everyone jump slightly. "All search results concurrent with the keywords 'Ancient Egypt' compiled."

Ricky and Jade made to shift over on the couch to get a closer look, but Kaiba waved them off. "I'll project a wireless signal to the plasma television," he said impatiently. The screen showing the character selection screen for the Inuyasha game disappeared, to be replaced by a number of open files, each displaying the same picture that Jade had drawn earlier.

It was Susan's voice that sounded, reading from one of the open search files:

"Within the Egyptian hierarchy of deities, Ra is considered the greatest of most powerful god, source of light, protection, and life. Living in a nature-based society, with the waters of the Nile to sustain them, the ancient Egyptians naturally understood the opposing forces of life and death, earth and water, and light and dark."

"According to Egyptian mythology, the rising and setting of the sun was caused by Ra successfully riding through the Underworld each night to ride his boat across the sky during the day. However, on overcast, cloudy, or rainy days, Egyptians believe that Ra's greatest enemy, Apophis, the Egyptian god of evil and darkness, had managed to slay the Sun god, stranding him in the Underworld until Osiris and Isis revived him and returned him to the world of the living."

It was Jade's voice that broke in. "Apophis, also know as Apep, is Ra's immortal enemy, the god of all that is dark and evil. Egyptians feared this god fore all others, believing that this dark deity had the power to destroy entire families, cause famine and rampant destruction, and cast all the world into darkness, utterly eradicating all life. Many of the texts and stone slabs that make mention of this dark god have been lost since the fall of ancient Egyptian civilization, though rumors abound that worshippers of Apophis built in secret a great temple, far underneath the Egyptian sands, where the god would hold court as he plotted to destroy his enemies. These enemies included, naturally, the god Ra and all the parties the god patroned, which included the ancient Egyptian royal family, the supposed direct descendants of Ra himself. There were several popular theories in circulation suggesting that the worshippers of Apophis were also members of the political front that sought to overthrow the royal family to place themselves on the throne of power."

Jade paused here, casting a glance at Rick, her expression worried, almost fearful. They both knew, perhaps better than anyone else in the room, the extent to which Yami, and for that matter, Yugi, were involved in the affairs of the ancient Egyptian royal family. Her voice shaking slightly, the pink-and-brown-haired girl continued to read on.

"While the symbol of Ra is the great golden sun-disk atop the head of falcon, as well as the great boat which the god would ride through the sky, the symbol of Apophis is far more sinister and alarming in appearance. The symbol of this god, appropriately enough, is a great dark serpent, or black snake, fanged and coiled maliciously, the complete antithesis to the sun."

Jade stopped, sudden fury rising in her chest as she looked at the picture below the last paragraph, the same picture of the sinisterly coiled serpent, its single black fang dripping a lethal black drop of poison, its evil black eye staring before it, as if it could sense her anger and take delight in it.

Ricky saw the fury in Jade's eyes and stayed silent, rummaging about in his own thoughts, not quite sure what to say.

Kaiba, however, had plenty to say. "So you're telling me we're dealing with a bunch of freaks who worship a snake god that eats up the sun?" he said incredulously.

Cori gave him a hard look. "I think the better way to put it is that we're dealing with a bunch of psychos. They may like what this Apophis freak stands for and may have decided to use his symbol as a rallying point."

"Or it just could be that we're dealing with an ancient evil that's decided to make his move in this current time era," Jade said, earning a startled response from Mokuba, Robert, and Ross, and a derisive snort from Kaiba.

"So you're telling me that a snake god from ancient Egypt has decided to awaken from his temple buried deep in the Earth to go after a three-colored hair teenager in modern-day Tokyo?" Kaiba challenged, snapping Ricky's last thread of patience.

"I'm telling you that there's another force awakening that wants the power of Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, you arrogant ass," Ricky snarled. "And that we are at a distinct disadvantage if we've only discovered their presence just now. They went after Yugi and Jade today, and they're armed to take whatever they want, no matter what they have to do. If you've learned anything from your experience with Duel Monsters, you should have learned that there are most certainly forces at work here that don't necessarily exist in the same plane of reality that we do!"

Kaiba opened his mouth to respond, his face flushed and thoroughly suffused with temper, and undoubtedly what he had been about to say most certainly would have been venomous.

"We're not going to get anywhere arguing with each other," Rasma said, her voice calm and soothing, which quelled Kaiba's temper immediately.

"Rasma's right," Cori added, braiding a bit of Tristan's hair with lime-green ribbon. Tristan looked about to say something, but was far too busy gazing at his girlfriend with nauseating adoration to notice or care that he was being turned into a colorful Tokyo rockstar right before everyone's eyes. "Arguing will only divide us at the time we need to stand together. What we need to consider now is what steps we're going to take, to protect ourselves, and eliminate this threat."

Joey spoke up, his arms wrapped around Susan, who seemed oddly distracted, as though considering several interesting possibilities in her mind. "We can't decide anything without Yugi and Téa here, especially Yugi. Speaking of which, how's Téa doing?"

Jade sighed. "It does seem like she's going to shake the worst of the flu off quickly, which is a good thing. Yugi is with her now, and under the circumstances I ordinarily wouldn't want to disturb her, but Joey's right…we need their input before we can decide what to do." Ricky exchanged a quick glance with Jade, before he thought silently to himself. _'Aa…and Yami might be able to give us some insight into this enemy as well…'_

Kaiba stood up. "So it's decided then? We go upstairs and get them in on this?"

Jade nodded, and crossed her arms as she stood up, walking a bit stiffly to the kitchen. "You're all to behave while we're up there. I'll not tolerate any ruckus while Téa's trying to get some rest, got it?"

With bemused smiles relieving the tension in the room, everyone nodded their assent, and with their quiet chatter rolling gently around them, the group crossed the living room and kitchen, and proceeded up the carpeted stairs.

--

Yugi's hand lingered on Téa's cheek, as he and Yami called her forth from the realm of dreams.

"Téa…wake up…we're here…"

The dark eyelashes fluttered briefly against the cheeks on which they lay. In the confines of the nether region between sleep and wakefulness, Téa lingered, startled, as though she had recognized something, but just as suddenly, lost it once more.

"I'm here, Téa…we're both here…"

"Yugi….?" Téa's voice came as little more than a breath of whispers.

A delighted smile spreading slowly over his face as he watched the azure eyes slowly flutter open, Yugi could only watch, breathless, as Téa regained her bearings as her mind returned to the world of wakefulness.

Téa blinked several times, her sleepy vision focusing, her breaths deepening as her body fully woke. In that instant, Yugi instantly released control to Yami. The switch was little more than a brief intake of breath, and Téa's eyes focused on Yami's regal, handsome form.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his amethyst eyes clouded with worry. Téa shivered at the sound of his voice. It was a voice that had a velvety darkness to it, rich in its startling masculinity and authority. She blushed briefly, at a loss for words, and glanced nervously down at the comforter covering her, before gentle fingers under her chin tilted her head up.

_'Gods above help me…I can't keep myself from blushing around him…what's suddenly come over me, that I can't even talk to my best friend anymore…for fear that…that…'_

"Téa?" the darkly shimmering voice asked again, and Téa felt her heart flutter madly as she glanced into Yami's eyes. Startled, she chirped a reply, in a voice that was startlingly high-pitched.

"What? Oh me, I'm…umm…I'm just fine! Well, no that's not really true…I'm sick, obviously…Jade said I caught the flu or something, so she's been—"

"—stuffing you full of food and natural remedies and mothering you enough to drive you mad?" Yami finished, a wry smile coloring his face. Téa was quite sure her heart had stopped for several seconds, seeing him smile like that. _'It's devastating…he could have any girl he wanted just by looking at them…heaven knows he already has me…'_

"Un," she murmured. Yami chuckled, making Téa feel slightly faint.

"Well, she did bequeath me a certain task," he said, flicking his hand to the tray that sat next to them.

Téa groaned. "I'm still full from earlier…she made me finish several plates worth of food and a pot of tea…" _'Speaking of which…I really need to use the bathroom…oh great…how can I possibly say that in front of Yugi?"_

Yami noticed her discomfort, and felt a hot flush suffuse his face, making his heart lurch strangely for a few seconds. _'This feeling…'_

Within the interiors of the mysterious Millennium Puzzle, Yugi felt the same warm flush in his face, felt the sudden skip of his heart.

: It's all right, you know…to feel the same way I do for Téa…:

(Aa…she's…)

:Remarkable? Amazing? Beautiful:

(And so fragile…and yet it makes her all the more ethereal…)

: I know…I can't imagine what she's going through right now…being sick and all…:

Yami smiled mysteriously, entertaining his own thoughts in a very private corner of his mind, rousing Yugi's indignance at once.

:What are you grinning about:

(Yugi…can't you tell…the way she looks at you…the way her face is turned away when she blushes…it's not because she's ill…it's because—)

:—because what:

Yami chose his next words as carefully as possible, though it was with great longing that the next words were spoken.

(Because she feels the same for you…for us…)

:…WHAT:

Yami had been about to respond, but instead was pulled from his internal conversation with Yugi when Téa struggled weakly against the bedclothes as she attempted to get out of the bed.

Yami placed his right arm around her, supporting her, yet barring her from getting up. It was obvious from her trembling that she was trying valiantly to support her own body weight, and was clearly failing at it. Both of them jumped slightly when they felt a small tingle of electricity shoot between them at the contact, and Téa blushed, laughing a little nervously, though Yami could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

"I guess it must be some static from the carpet, ne?"

Yami smiled. "Aa…" he murmured.

"Now then," he chided softly. "You know you're not supposed to be moving about…Jade said specifically you were to rest until you were completely better."

Téa groaned, her face flushed pink from mild embarrassment, casting her mind around desperately for a more graceful explanation to get out of bed, rather than reveal the truth that her bladder was fit to burst. "She also said I have to eat and drink tea…and you know how I am…I have to wash my hands…you know how fussy I am sometimes."

Yami tilted his head. "You're not fussy at all, Téa," he said softly, his voice intense and warm. "But as it is your wish…then I will help." His heart pounded heavily as he said those words, and for a split second, Yami wanted desperately to take the beautiful girl in his arms and kiss her, as if he could ease what he knew she must surely be suffering.

Téa, for her part, couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through her at the warmth in Yami's voice, and for a fraction of a second, she saw in his eyes a sudden heated, longing desire. It rocked her to her very core, and she trembled as she once more attempted to free herself from under the heavy eider-down quilt.

Yami slipped his other arm around her, his brow furrowing with concern as he felt Téa's body tremble in his arms. It roused something in him, and all at once, he felt a fierce protectiveness, and intense desire, and a thrumming love reverberate through him. He could bear it no longer. His heart beating rapidly, he slid his other arm around Téa's waist, ignoring her small gasp of surprise, and was silent as his lips slowly bent toward his beloved's astonished face.

--

The group of teenagers became unusually quiet as they made their way up the stairs and down the carpeted hallway. Everyone seemed to be absorbed in their own thoughts, and the only noise that came forth was the flip-flop of their house slippers and the occasional muted jangle from Ricky and Jade's pendants. Kaiba and Rasma were too busy pondering ways to further improve the Deltus system, Susan and Cori seemed to be blankly staring ahead of them, as though reading signs of what was to come in the future, while Joey and Tristan looked on, equally confused. Robert, Mokuba, and Ross were all somber at the serious atmosphere in the air, and Ricky was eyeing the bruise on Jade's shoulder critically. As for Jade, she was feeling troubled over what had happened in the Ueno district earlier, and was trying to force her mind to unearth the tiniest dregs of detail about that particular recollection.

It was therefore, with little ceremony and a distinct absentmindedness that Jade pushed open the door to where Téa and Yugi were. The guys didn't notice anything untoward, and since Susan, Cori, and Jade's minds were drifting about on matter far more paranormal, it was only Rasma's enthusiastic cheer that roused everyone from their stupor.

"Téa-chan! You GO girl!"

* * *

Alright, alright, so it was an abrupt end to the chapter, so shoot me! Reviews please, and millions and billions of thanks to those who've reviewed! 

-Pharaohess Yami Anzu


End file.
